We also had issues with any 4K video using the DTS audio codec, in which no sound would play. We recommend transcoding your video files ahead of time if you plan on using your NAS as a media server.
You can do this with the Offline Transcoding feature in Video Station , though unfortunately you need to manually choose individual videos to convert.
With the NAS running, we pulled the drive out of the second bay and the NAS beeped at us until we acknowledged a drive-failure notification. Logging in to DSM, we found another notification as well as instructions for how to rebuild the drive array in the Storage Manager once we replaced it. You can adjust the LED brightness or set it up on a schedule so the lights dim at night.
Or you can set it to export, say, only video files from a specific folder. In our tests, small-file file transfer in encrypted folders was slowed by about 30 percent compared to non-encrypted folders. Unlike our main pick, the TSD can encrypt whole volumes, not just folders. Design-wise, QTS takes at least some of its inspiration from iOS, loading up all your add-on packages as icons on a desktop.
When we pulled out a drive and inserted a fresh one to simulate replacing a failed drive, it rebuilt its array without trouble. QNAP provides a two-year warranty and excellent support both over the phone and via an online forum, plus a knowledge base and tutorials.
For starters, you can opt for RAID 5, 6, or 10; those data storage configurations require three or more disks but provide better data protection and depending on which RAID configuration you choose can offer better performance. A four-bay NAS also lets you expand your storage capacity more easily since you can start with two drives and add more as needed, whereas the only way to expand the storage space on a two-bay NAS is to replace first one drive and then the other with higher-capacity drives.
Four-drive NAS devices are typically more suited to professional settings—and if you want to use one, having a good understanding of RAID storage management will help. Very few NAS devices prompt you to change or reset the admin password—doing so, however, is a crucial security step, because the NAS connects to the Internet and is thus a ripe target for threats.
So the first thing to do with any new NAS is to change the password on the admin account both Synology and QNAP prompt you to do this during the initial setup. Creating a unique user account for each person who accesses your NAS is a good idea.
You can do so on any of the NAS devices we tested by going into the user settings in the interface. If you want to give someone the ability to upload files to the NAS, give that user write permissions as well as read permissions. If someone should only download files, make them a read-only user.
When something goes wrong with a NAS, the culprit is usually drive failure, and according to this infographic from Seagate , temperature extremes are one of the top five causes of hard-drive failure. Data corruption is another big issue with hard drives. Otherwise, if something goes wrong with the NAS, you may have problems getting customer support—or worse, you may discover that you voided the warranty. The same rule applies to memory: If you buy a NAS that allows you to add RAM, check with the vendor to make sure that you purchase supported memory.
We are starting to see 2. It was released after our recent test period, but we will consider it next time we update this guide. Some are still available but use older CPUs, are priced too high, or fail to meet our memory requirements. The My Cloud Home Duo needs to be connected to the Internet if you want to use all its features, even within your home network. We also looked at the Apollo Cloud 2 Duo.
Unfortunately, it lacks basic features and third-party app support, including stuff like Plex, which even the WD model has. Its read and write tests were also extremely slow compared with the results from other NAS boxes we tested. When we reached out to Apollo for clarification on these results, representatives replied that the Cloud 2 Duo uses in-flight encryption by default and the user cannot disable it. It seemed a possible fit for folks with small home offices or as a NAS you can stash out of the way, next to your wireless router.
However, 2. So while it may be fine for a single stream of highly compressed videos, a NAS array with an Intel or AMD x86 processor is better for home use.
While both were competitive on our performance tests, included dual 2. The admin interface features a red motif and a dragon logo that feels more at home on a gaming PC than on a home office NAS.
Also, we disliked that Asustor buries security fix info in their ADM update notes. Centralized access to updates makes it easier to react to malware threats as they are discovered. Jon L.
Thorin Klosowski is the editor of privacy and security topics at Wirecutter. He has been writing about technology for over a decade, with an emphasis on learning by doing—which is to say, breaking things as often as possible to see how they work.
For better or worse, he applies that same DIY approach to his reporting. Joel Santo Domingo is a senior staff writer covering networking and storage at Wirecutter. This one includes storage right out of the box and is compatible with Plex servers.
There are many important considerations when buying computer equipment for business use. Typically, you want something reliable, durable, and can handle more complex workloads than home users require. Most importantly, perhaps, is the ability for it to grow with your business over time.
If you can start with a smaller initial investment and then upgrade a NAS as you go, that would be ideal from a cost-benefit perspective. The most impressive performance feature, however, is the two M.
NVME drives you insert into these slots are not used for file storage. Instead, they act as a high-speed cache for frequently used data. So if everyone in the office is working on the same project files, there will be no access contention once that data is cached to the NVME SSDs. Not to mention, Synology has a large selection of add-on packages for their NAS products, many of which are invaluable in a business setting.
If you're looking for a NAS for business, you need something that will scale as you grow. In-home media streaming is one of the main reasons most people are looking at a NAS. The popularity of Plex is a driving factor in looking into these network computer boxes. Most people start off running a Plex server on their desktop or using a spare computer. Plex is compatible with a wide range of NAS devices that will run its app, but many of them are limited to software transcoding.
Ideally, you want a NAS that offers dedicated hardware encoding and certified compatibility with Plex. This NAS allows 4K transcoding at a great price point. Drobo is a specialized, high-end NAS manufacturer. The 5N2 is built to enable use cases such as video editors accessing and editing media files directly from the NAS. You have the option of using an mSATA SSD drive for cache acceleration, which makes it practical to do high-speed work using mechanical drives in the main drive bays.
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Best Bluetooth Headphones for Switch. Best Roku TV. Best Apple Watch. Best iPad Cases. Best Portable Monitors. Best Gaming Keyboards. Best Drones. Go ahead and read and watch my full review for the in-depth details. Face it. It doesn't matter if it's earthquakes or hurricanes two things my home office had to live through or some other form of disaster, it's likely that your drives will be at risk, at least part of the time. Now, let's be clear: We never recommend you store all your data in one place.
In fact, the backup strategy we recommend involves storing three copies of your data, using at least two different types of storage mechanisms and at least one copy of which is stored off-site.
But restoring from off-site can be difficult and time-consuming, and cloud backups get very expensive as your data usage goes up. It's not a bad idea to have a robust storage solution in-house. That's where ioSafe comes in. They're fire and water-proof. They also weigh a ton and are rock solid, so especially if you attach them to a floor or closet with an available bracket , you can prevent them from walking away.
I use an ioSafe machine as a second backup to my main Synology box. It comes on once a week, accepts a backup, and then shuts off. That way, even if my network is breached, the ioSafe is powered down except for a few hours each week.
My drives are protected physically and mostly air-gapped from the internet. You can implement this strategy, as well. I have a five-bay model, but I've recommended a two-bay model here, simply because they are quite expensive due to the added protection. I wouldn't be allowed to get out of this article alive if I didn't mention the option of building your own NAS box. There is no law that says you need to buy a pre-built box from a vendor.
For years and years, I always built my own NAS boxes, including some that were very customized. I also had a ton of other projects to work on, and delegating NAS building to others saved me some time. If you're super-comfortable with specing PC parts and building PCs, you'll probably want to go it on your own.
I'm not going to go into too much more detail, because this article covers it in some depth. Not everyone agrees with my assessment, so if you want to really see what folks think, visit my YouTube video of the same name and dig through the hundreds of comments. There are good conversations there. As with many of my other "best of" lists, this one comes out of my experience.
I've been running NAS boxes since sometime in the s. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to bring boxes in from seven vendors and stress test them in the lab. From those tests, come my top recommendations. While the devices here aren't the identical ones tested in the lab with one exception , these all reflect the technology from each vendor. In addition, I'm using devices from three of the four vendors recommended here on a daily or weekly basis, so I have a lot of experience with how well they work.
The best cloud storage services. Free and cheap personal and small business cloud storage services are everywhere. But, which one is best for you? Let's look at the top cloud storage options. Read More. So, how should you choose? In this case, the decision tree is pretty straightforward.
You need, of course, to determine your budget and storage needs.
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